It would appear that an Xbox spokesperson is attempting damage control even as up to over 1,000 staff could be facing layoffs. Over the last few days, announcements and rumors regarding studio closures have circulated among Xbox’s gaming partners, thus producing a growing dark cloud over Microsoft’s gaming division. Xbox is beginning to resemble 90s-era FOX television in the sense that no matter how much praise you get from peers or fans, no one is safe from losing their job.
Speaking to Bloomberg (via VGC), Microsoft has said, “We’re not reducing our overall investment in games. We expect to invest about the same in content as we did last year. What’s changing is where we’re investing and the kinds of projects we’re backing.”
This statement probably holds little comfort for those who’ve already been told they are no longer employed. It was just yesterday that The Verge reported on Dishonored series developer Arkane Studios’ closure. Arkane had been working on a game based on Marvel’s day-walking vampire hunter, Blade, but that is now officially dead on the table. Meanwhile, IO Interactive has said it has ended its partnership with an undisclosed partner believed to be Microsoft regarding a title called Project Fantasy, which had originally been announced as an Xbox exclusive in 2023. The Hitman/007 developer has said it will attempt to develop Project Fantasy but is now seeking other funding resources to publish it.
Other studios that could be on the chopping block include Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and more. Despite this, Xbox is claiming it is still committed to investing in games, but at some point, one wonders in what form or fashion that will be when only a small handful of studios remain partnered with it. Unionized Xbox staff are making their voices heard (via Kotaku), stating they “We’re done paying for executive failures,” and will not be treated as disposable even as internal layoffs are expected in the coming days and weeks. Among all this chaos, it has been discovered that the head of Xbox Games Studios, Craig Duncan, has resigned.